The Lost Scions
Previous Adventures: *Isendale, the Forgotten City *The Death of the Kibitz *Ruins of Daed'loth *Temperamental Elemental ---- 10 January 3137; Alexandra Cavanagha, Deacon Argus the Fallen, Divada Palehand, Jin-Lo Song, Tarak Relkin Adventure Summary The heroes were visiting Free City in Westreach when Lord Woarsten Oreal, patriarch of the House Oreal, who had invested heavily in Deacon Argus' church rebuld, called in a favor and asked them to locate his errant son, Nanther and bring him home. Scions from the other noble houses were also missing and the trail led to the Dead Falcon Flats in Northern Urjusty. There they discovered an ambush site and one of the companions dead. The orc signs were clear, and the trail led to the citadel of Xûl-Jarak. The orog leader there had declared himself Warlord of Urjusty. To mark this mighty event, a ritual would give him the blessings of Toldoth herself. Various tribes that had not yet pledged fealty to the orog had come to witness the ceremony and determine whether the warlord was worthy to command them. Of course, the ritual execution of the captured scions was an integral part of the ceremony. The heroes breached the citadel under the cover of a snowstorm, negotiated the dungeon complex beneath it, reached the scions, and struck down the orog warlord. Even after returning to the Free City, they were not safe. A band of orc cutthroats had successfully infiltrated the city! Toldoth hungered for the heroes' blood and the orcs wanted to please their god. Conclusion During the raid in Xûl-Jarak, the heroes fell several stories down the central shaft inside the citadel. Jin-Lo was able to slow fall some of the distance and Divada simply changed into a bird, but Deacon Argus and Tarak were seriously wounded and could barely stand. Alex was killed in the fall. After a panicked fight against the room's defenders, Deacon Argus prayed to his god, to which he had devoted his life and had constructed a massive church in which gathered more followers every day. Then a miracle occurred: Alex was restored to life! The strain of being a conduit to such divine power nearly destroyed Argus, all his spells, lay on hands and other daily abilities were burned away and the paladin fell unconscious. Once the others had revived Argus with spells, potions and the like, they swore an oath on the blood they had shed this day that they would remain brothers. The heroes named themselves the Blood of the Fallen. Alex committed herself to serving Ásabragr Staan-tage after such an intense experience. Excerpt from the Journal of Argus the Fallen: :"As I lay there amid my companions, barely holding on to my own life. I knew that we would win this day. I knew that my god would grant me the strength to fight on. He saw in me that which he craves from his followers. I had brought him a mountain, converted many new followers. I had gained power and I defied death itself. He knew that Alex was worthy of saving because I asked for it. I asked with my true heart. I saw him bless her life and bring her back. My body had held the very power of a god and I survived. I slew the orc in the name of my god, calling his name as each hammer blow struck. Creatures fell before his power, creatures fell before my might. I am Argus, I am the thunder hammer. With my new Blood of the Fallen we will not fail to bring light into the dark and make them fall before us. Now to fix my armor, falling 20 stories hurts." ---- Next Adventures: *The Power of the Twenty *Lair of the Zombie Master *The Lamashan Codex *The Murder of Seven Points *King of The Grov'val Stair **For one of those young scions, Nanther Oreal, his adventures were just beginning: Gone in the Night. Lost Scions Lost Scions Lost Scions Lost Scions